The Writing & Other Projects of Elizabeth Barrette

Feb. 13th, 2019

Life is full of things which are hard or tedious or otherwise unpleasant that need doing anyhow. They help make the world go 'round, they improve skills, and they boost your sense of self-respect. But doing them still kinda sucks. It's all the more difficult to do those things when nobody appreciates it. Happily, blogging allows us to share our accomplishments and pat each other on the back.

What are some of the hard things you've done recently? What are some hard things you haven't gotten to yet, but need to do? Is there anything your online friends could do to make your hard things a little easier?

But to most swimmers, some boaters, people with beach property, and everyone who wants the sand to stay put instead of washing away, it's a bad thing. Also it's hard on beach wildlife such as grunion and turtles because heavier surf impedes their reproductive successes.

So basically this analysis of the Challenger failure is a much tighter version of what I said in junior high. Nobody listened to me then. Nobody is listening to me now; everything is geared toward doing things faster and cheaper. But if you are in any job where important things going wrong could injure people, wreck the environment, or waste tons of money then please consider this a reminder to go check your fault tolerances, safety precautions, and emergency supplies. I know, I know, people think fault tolerance is a huge waste of space and money. But it's not. It's the price you pay for having ways to stop an emergency before it becomes a deadly flaming disaster.